Dead or Alive, I'll Always Love You
by Mylinda Antoinette
Summary: After a trip to Lyoko, it looks like Yumi's dead. But an unexpected secret causes problems. And what happens when it is revealed that she may still be alive? UxY, some JxA on the side. Rated for some insane circumstances and intensely emotional sequences.
1. Heading to Lyoko

Dead or Alive, I'll Always Love You

Chapter 1: Heading to Lyoko

Summary: After a trip to Lyoko, it looks like Yumi's dead. But an unexpected secret causes problems. And what happens when it is revealed that she may still be alive? UxY

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Author's note: Okay, this is NOT going to be a one-shot; this will be a multi-chapter Fanfiction. I hope you all like it! I came up with this story idea right after waking up on the morning of Saturday, October 21, 2006, so it was before the episode Final Round aired on Monday, October 23, 2006. Because of this, this story will not agree with the final episode of Season 3, and thus, this story could be considered an AU. This is not the first time I have started a story after the second-to-last episode of a season of Code Lyoko only to find that it doesn't agree with the final episode. So I apologize; if not for the fact that I actually really like the idea for this story, I wouldn't still be writing it.

PLEASE R&R!

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It was a beautiful day for the Lyoko group. The fight for Lyoko had continued another two years, as Jeremy had still been unable to find Franz Hopper, who at this point was the only person who could help them defeat XANA. Yumi and William were out of high school and the remaining Lyoko members were in their senior year at Kadic. William was dating Sissi, showing respect for Yumi by leaving her and Ulrich alone to continue their relationship. Ulrich and Yumi had been secretly dating for a year, and it was well known around the school that Jeremy and Aelita were dating, as they had been doing so for about two and a half years. Yumi and William had managed to convince their parents to let them take a year off before college, since Jeremy really needed them. He had assured them that he had enough data that it would take him no more than one more year to find Franz and bring him back to the real world.

Yumi and William lived in apartments that were next door to each other not far from the school, which made it convenient for them to meet the Lyoko group for lunch every day. They would pick up the remainder of the group at lunch once every two weeks and take them out to eat at the fast food restaurant where they worked. It was on one of these days that the real drama all began.

The group had already received their discounted food and started eating. They were engaged in a friendly conversation when Yumi suddenly spoke up.

"Aelita?" she inquired of the other girl in the Lyoko group.

"Yeah, Yumi?" Yumi looked down and dug an envelope out of her purse and handed it to her.

"If anything ever happens to me during a XANA attack or anything, I want you to open this and read it out loud to everyone, okay?" she said casually. Aelita looked confused.

"Um, okay, Yumi, but why this all of a sudden?" Yumi merely gave her a secretive half-smile.

"Well… some circumstances have come up and if something does happen to me, I may require your help." She then looked Ulrich in the eyes and began one of those conversations that can only be carried out by two people deeply in love- the kind in which you communicate through your eyes.

'Should we tell them?' she asked him.

'Only if you want to, love,' he replied. Yumi sighed and opened her mouth to tell the others, but then Jeremy suddenly looked up from where he was typing on his laptop, seemingly very excited.

"Guys, I think I can help Aelita to find some more information on Franz Hopper!" Everyone grew excited.

"Really, Jeremy?!" Aelita exclaimed excitedly. Of course, she was very happy, as they were growing ever closer to finding her father. Jeremy smiled at her and nodded.

"I don't think it will be enough to find him, but it will definitely bring me much closer to doing so. I think I'll nearly be there!" The group cheered happily. "Let's head to the factory!" Jeremy finished. The group stood up from their finished meal, grabbed their trash and threw it in the trash bins before running out the door in the direction of the factory, Yumi soon forgetting that she had been going to share her and Ulrich's secret with the others. Even if she never got to tell them, it was written in the letter she had given Aelita.

The group continued running through the streets, putting on a burst of speed as they ran across the bridge leading to the factory. They grabbed the ropes and swung down to the floor below, where the elevator stood, waiting patiently for them to enter so it could take them where they needed to be. They got into the elevator and William pushed the button. They were soon in the rooms they always were in. "All right guys, we'll send William, Odd, and Aelita first." They got in the scanners. "Transfer, Odd! Transfer, William! Transfer, Aelita! Scanner, Aelita! Scanner, Odd! Scanner, William!" he exclaimed. Then he pressed the enter button and cried, "VIRTUALIZATION," sending his friends to the virtual world.

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Okay, chapter 1's over. R&R if you wanna see the next chapter this weekend, especially since my best friend will be in town. I wanna spend as much time as possible with her while she's here, so I'll only update this weekend if I get 3 reviews. Chapter 2 is almost finished, Chapter 3 is started, and Chapter 4 is finished, though it is VERY short, two paragraphs. If you want me to finish it by then, REVIEW BEFORE YOU LEAVE!


	2. The REAL Drama Begins

Author's note: Sorry this took so long... I'm afraid my original copy of this chapter got deleted, so I had to rewrite it. Anyway, here's the update that is LOOONG overdue. :D

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Chapter 2: The REAL Drama Begins...

William, Odd, and Aelita fell to the ground in Sector 5. They stood up slowly as the walls spun around them.

"Okay, guys, I'm sending Ulrich and Yumi now!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Hold on until they get there, and then hurry and get the key!" Seconds later, as the passage opened and the countdown began, the two dropped from the sky. The group started making their way through the interior of Sector 5 as Jeremy began to speak, his voice uncharacteristically worried.

"Hang on, Yumi; I think something happened during the transfer!" Yumi got scared as she and Ulrich slowed to a stop. "I got some readings during the transfer; hold on just a second while I run some test, okay?" Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other worriedly.

"Bad readings, Jeremy?" she inquired.

"Probably not, it looks to me like it's just some numbers that aren't what they should be, mostly your mass and weight; they're a little higher than what the scanner normally registers for you. I just wanted to run some tests to be sure. You can keep going now, everything looks good." Yumi let out a barely audible sigh of relief as she ran forward with Ulrich. As they arrived in the room, they saw the Scyphozoa release Aelita just before William hit the key to stop the countdown. XANA-Aelita sank through the floor to the room below. The group ran through the newly opened door, knowing exactly what was going on. They jumped onto the elevator and made their way into the celestial dome, where their vehicles where waiting. They hopped on their vehicles and headed for the access to the core of Lyoko. As they landed in front of the key that would activate the stairs, they heard Jeremy's voice from overhead.

"Guys, the first shield layer is about to blow! XANA is pouring a _lot_ of power into Aelita's weapon and making her energy fields much larger and much more powerful than usual! Three hits will destroy a shield layer!" Yumi hit the key and they started running up the stairs to where XANA-Aelita stood making a large plasma ball, an evil grin spreading across her face as she prepared to discharge the ball.

"NO!" Yumi shouted as the ball was released and the first shield layer blew. The possessed girl turned her head toward them, her face suddenly twisting into a scowl. She began to charge up a blackish-grey colored energy ball.

"Jeremy, what the heck is that?" Ulrich exclaimed as the ball grew larger.

"Um… I don't know for sure… OH NO! It looks like… she's creating an- an antimatter charge!" he yelled in fear and horror. "If those blasts collide with matter, there will be an explosion and I don't know what it will do if the blast hits one of you directly!"

"Well then," Yumi said, "change of plans. Odd, run up the stairs and start firing when you have a clear shot at her. Ulrich, William, and I will do the best we can down here! Go!"

They all broke off according to Yumi's plan. The three left at the bottom managed to dodge the first ball, but they did get hit a little by the resulting explosion and they each lost a few lifepoints. XANA-Aelita assumed that Odd had been devirtualized when he was no longer visible. She charged up another blast, aiming straight at the floor near the three comrades. "NO!" Yumi screamed, clearly fearful. She realized that the blast XANA-Aelita was big enough and powerful enough that if it hit the floor, it could destroy Sector 5, and in doing so, would destroy the core.

The next minute passed in slow motion for Ulrich as he watched his beloved Yumi start to run at the instant Aelita discharged the blast. As the blast came continually closer to the point where it would obliterate the entire sector and, in doing so, destroy all of Lyoko as well…

Yumi jumped. She jumped off the ground and took the blast.

At first it didn't really hurt, but after a second the pain flared up as the ball encompassed her. The antimatter seemed to eat away at her substance and she screamed in pain as Odd managed to get to Aelita and devirtualize her. Odd and William crowded around Yumi, who was being held in Ulrich's arms.

"Ulrich…" she choked out.

"Yes, Yumi, I'm right here," he said softly, tears pouring from his eyes. "I'll never leave you!"

"Ulrich… make sure… Ae…li…ta… reads… the… letter," she managed. "I… love… you."

Ulrich couldn't contain his tears as he leaned down and kissed her. "I love you, too, Yumi. I'll never stop loving you."

Yumi smiled softly, though her smile was filled with pain. Then Ulrich watched as the pixels began to flake away from her body as she devirtualized and his arms suddenly became empty.

"Come on, Ulrich, let's go back to Earth," Odd said gently. "Jeremy, it's done! Bring us in!"

"All right. Materialization Odd! Materialization Ulrich! Materialization William!"

Ulrich suddenly found himself in the scanner back on Earth. As the doors parted, he saw Yumi lying on the ground with a much more normal Aelita frantically attempting CPR on her.

"Yumi! Yumi, please wake up!" she was saying, tears pouring from her eyes.

Ulrich immediately rushed over and knelt down by the two girls. "Yumi! Aelita, what's going on?!"

Aelita looked up at him sadly. "Ulrich," she replied in a tight, choked voice, "Yumi's heart stopped."

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Don't forget to review... the more reviews, the more encouragement I'll get to rewrite the other chapters! 


	3. Author's Note: Discontinued

This is just a brief note to inform you that I have decided not to continue this story. I have unfortunately lost both the inspiration and the desire to complete it. I will be removing this story from the site next weekend. If you have an idea for this story and you want to take it over, please let me know before you do so. Thank you for your support. 


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